Last week, we went into our Dell Precision 3260 Compact Review. Just as the review was going live, we received a few extra parts that did not make the review, but we wanted to at least highlight them for folks looking for parts. Finally, after very long delays of around two weeks in shipping, we received a PCIe riser and a SATA data and power cable. We also had a USB Type-C rear optional port inbound, but it has still not arrived yet. Still, we wanted to show these off quickly.
The Dell Precision 3260 Compact Riser and SATA
We ordered a Dell FW37C or 0FW37C part number riser, and this is what arrived.
A small, but nice feature is that the riser slot is open-ended so one could install a PCIe x16 card into the slot even if it will not run at x16 electrical. The motherboard slot does is not open ended and there are components placed that would prevent a larger card being installed. The riser adds this new capability.
Here is the back of the riser. Something that is very clear on the riser is that it has minimal protrusion beyond the motherboard connector to allow the riser to fit into that tight spot. This is different from how we see a normal PCIe connector’s overhang.
There are mounting holes, and generally we see these in larger assemblies, but this riser seems to be the minimum one needs to get a low profile PCIe card installed.
Installed in the system, the riser allows for a low-profile PCIe card to be installed, in this case, we have a cheap Gigaplus 10Gbase-T adapter installed.
Here is another angle of the card installed. Since we do not have a retention bracket for the riser, the entire installation ended up being tool-less. For sitting on a desk, this installation should be fine. If one were to drive this system around on the back of an offroad vehicle, we would probably want the card and riser to be secured.
One other part that “worked” was a SATA data and power cable we found.
The data and power cable allowed for a drive to be connected, however, the metal bracket that was attached to the cable did not have a logical point to install it. Still, this setup allows for a SATA data disk to be installed in the system and then the two M.2 drives to be used for storage or networking.
Final Words
These were two upgrades that took a long time to find and arrive. Still, they helped us get to a system with a boot SATA disk, two M.2 SSDs, and then 10GbE installed making the Dell Precision 3260 Compact system considerably more useful. If you want to see more on the system, you can find that video here as well:
Next up in this series, we have the Dell Precision 3240 Compact where we have a few different systems.
Oh my. The overuse of the “one” contagion continues spreading. Please.
It does not make the publication appear high brow but the opposite.
That initial picture look to me like a house with a garden in the front. It took me a while to realize what it really was and only after I’d read the description.
A true high brow publication would use the “royal we” instead of “one.”
Dig the SATA adapter! A lot of similarities between the Precision 3260 and the Optiplex 7010 Micro Plus mobo. I don’t have a pcie port so am limited there. But I’m gonna go check for the SATA ribbon port and see if I can cram a SATA SSD in there as a boot drive.
There’s an Amazon seller, Deal4GO, that has a lot of Dell stuff. Not sure if they’re coping or actually sourcing from Dell, but I’ve gotten things in the past and the parts seem legit.
They have the SATA ribbon and drive caddy as a kit under part numbers KYPMH (SATA ribbon) and DYTGC (caddy).
In their images the mobo screw between the SATA ribbon port and the pcie port comes out and the SATA/power port mounts there.
The slot being open-ended is one thing, but did you test if full 75W devices can be inserted into it?
> The motherboard slot does is not open
Spotted another of Patrick’s Easter Eggs :)